pan de yuca

Pan de yuca – warm, salty and a little bit chewy.

What more could you ask for in a quick little bun?

Not much, I'd say. Which is why these are quickly becoming a new standard at my house.

These little buns literally mean "bread of tapioca" and they use tapioca starch and copious amounts of cheese for their structure. (Hmmm, could that be why I like them so much?)

The original recipe calls for queso fresco, but here on the Prairies, queso fresco is not stocked in my grocery store. I used feta instead and it gives them a good, salty heft.

Now, my Colombian friend tells me that I can make queso fresco and that it's much like ricottta, so I'll have to try that next time. But, honestly, I'm pretty happy with these feta darlings -- although I do see they get more rise in the original queso fresco version.

They are truly simple – faster than whipping up a batch of biscuits, I'd hazard.

Just whiz the feta, tapioca starch*, baking powder and a teeny bit of sugar in a little food processor (mine is called the mini-hachoir!). Blend in an egg, pull it out . . .

The dough is wet and craggy, but easy enough to roll into little balls.

The buns only take 15 minutes to bake (while you're putting the finishing touches on your soup, say) and they're perfect warm out of the oven.

And – bonus! – they're also good cold with your lunch the next day.

*You should be able to find tapioca starch at most grocery stores. Look in the gluten-free section.

one year ago: tomato sauce with onion and butter
two years ago: glorious hummus for bean month
three years ago: shortbread in january

pan de yuca (colombian tapioca buns)
adapted from my colombian recipes
bakes 12 nice little buns

1 c. tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sugar
250 g. mild feta cheese, broken into a few big chunks
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Stir the tapioca starch, baking powder and sugar together. Pour into the food processor. Add the feta and pulse until mixed well. Add the egg slowly and pulse until just mixed.

Pull the dough out and shape 12 balls. Place them on the prepared pan. Bake for 14 – 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Serve warm.

happy things in the new year

I returned home in the morning on New Year's Day.

As I carefully lugged my bulging suitcase – full of imported B.C. wine – up the front steps and into the house, I was happy to be back.

The sun streamed in and I looked fondly on my Christmas decorations and the shiny new pot my favourite husband had given me for Christmas.

And I went back into my favourite part of this house: the kitchen.

First, I made those Ottolenghi spice cookies* I'd been drooling over for the past month.

They are divine. I don't think an hour goes by when I don't think about them. Currants bathed in brandy, rough bits of dark chocolate in a dense, spicy dough with a slathering of lemon glaze . . . it doesn't get much better than this. I am attempting to limit myself to two a day. But I might break.

Then, while the tomatoes were roasting for this deep and dark soup, I tried making pan de yuca. These are Colombian cheese buns that are made with tapioca starch and queso fresco.

Edmonton is not exactly a Latin food mecca, so I had to sub in mild feta instead of the queso fresco. But – no hay problema! – they came out soft and salty and perfect for dipping in the soup.

So that was one dinner. The next night, I knew I was dining alone, so I went kind of crazy and bought barley! With gluten in it! Wild times, I know.

I've been thinking about barley risotto ever since I ate it almost a year ago at the Twisted Fork in Vancouver. It was creamy and cheesy and the barley had such a nice bite . . .

After a bit of searching, I found this recipe for Meyer Lemon Risotto with barley. I adapted it a bit – with a regular lemon, asiago cheese and no greens or nuts – and it was just exactly what I hoped for. (This might make me live on the wild side a bit more often.)

Because the risotto was enough work, I wanted to cheat and only make one vegetable for the side. A fat head of cauliflower stared at me from the fridge, and I found this recipe for roasting it with olive oil, lemon, garlic and parmesan.

By the time the cauliflower had baked up golden with singed brown tips, it was perfect with my barley risotto. Of course, this kind of dinner called for good wine, and I had a glass of one of my favourite wines in the whole world.

For dessert, I ate a slice of chocolate cheesecake that my mom sent home with me.

I am now living on leftovers and am one very happy girl come mealtime.

2013, I feel good about you so far.


one year ago: glory bowl
two years ago: naomi's granola
three years ago: shortbread in january


*I adapted the spice cookies to be gluten-free. Let me know if you'd like my GF flour substitutions.

P.S. My husband kidnapped the camera. If the ransom goes through, I expect it will be back tomorrow. The pictures on this post are from our stay in Ucluelet this summer. But isn't there some lucky omen to starting the new year with shells?